Constructivist Learning Theory
Personal Thoughts
Constructivism is the predominate theory in k-12 education in the region within which I work. Constructivism has its place in the modern classroom but like all things, constructivist learning theory must follow cognitive learning. Cognitive learning lays the foundation necessary for a student to be able to function in a constructivist learning theory educational system. The theories should not be thought of as separate, but a set of successive blocks to be used by educators to build a complete educational experience.
Two Major Branches
Cognitive Constructivism: how the learner understands the world
Social Constuctivism: how meanings and understandings grow
Founding Fathers
Jean Piaget
Vygotsky
Bruner
Active Learning: Student centered initiatives that focus how the student understands the changing world.
Learning-by-doing: The thought that students are inherently inquisitive and should conduct experiments to better understand the world.
Scaffolded Learning: Learning does not take place in a vacuum. Scaffolding activates prior learning and provides context.
Collaboration: Students will often understand the world as they collaborate with others to form a common understanding of an event or process.
Active Learning: Learning and understandings grow when lessons meet students where the student learns so that students participate in their own learning.
Learning-by-doing: Students better understand the world and grow as learners when students act as conductors of experimental processes.
Collaboration: Meaning and understanding are gown through truly collaborative experiences.
Scaffolded Learning: Learning builds upon learning.
Arguments against
Students want to see teachers in the classroom.
Rote learning is lays foundational skills so that students can build a repertoire within the student so that the student can improvise and own his or her learning later in life.
References:
Harasim, L (2017). Learning theory and online technologies (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Baines, L.A., & Stanley, G. (2001, December). ‘We want to see the teacher’ Constructivism and the rage against expertisePreview the document. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(4), 327-330.
Chrenka, L. (2001, May). Misconstructing constructivismPreview the document. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(9), 694-695.
For this map I wanted to focus on the basic branches of Cognitive Constructivism to lay the foundation for the statement above. I also think the arguments against constructivism are very strong.